Flagpole Jitters

1956 film by Jules White

April 5, 1956 (1956-04-05) (U.S.)

Running time

15:56CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Flagpole Jitters is a 1956 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 169th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The Stooges are paperhangers concurrently assuming the role of caregivers for the invalid Mary, confined to a wheelchair. Their routine is disrupted by the allure of a poster featuring the eminent hypnotist, Svengarlic, renowned for his captivating performances. Motivated by the prospect of Mary's potential rehabilitation through hypnotic intervention, the Stooges seek Svengarlic's services, albeit unwittingly falling prey to his ulterior motives.

However, Svengarlic's intentions veer from the Stooges' altruistic aspirations, as he orchestrates a diversionary spectacle using the trio as unwitting pawns. The Stooges, mesmerized by Svengarlic's hypnotic prowess, are induced to perform a precarious dance atop a flagpole, while his henchmen perpetrate a heist at a nearby jewelry emporium. An inadvertent cyclist collides with Svengarlic, abruptly terminating the hypnotic trance and jolting the Stooges back to consciousness.

In a state of disorientation and panic, the Stooges discover themselves in a precarious suspension atop the flagpole, an unintended consequence of its collapse. This fortuitous turn of events unexpectedly propels them into the heart of an in-progress robbery, where their presence disrupts the criminal enterprise, culminating in its ultimate foiling.

Cast

Credited

Moe Howard as Moe
Larry Fine as Larry
Shemp Howard as Shemp (final film he produced with the team before his death)
Mary Ainslee as Mary (stock footage)
- Connie Cezon as Mary (new footage)
David Bond as Svengarlic
Vernon Dent as Insurance adjuster (stock footage)

Uncredited

Don C. Harvey as Jack the robber
Frank Sully as Jim the robber
Ned Glass as Svengarlic's manager (stock footage)
- Edwin Rochelle as Svengarlic's manager (new footage)
Richard Alexander as policeman
Barbara Bartay as Chorus girl with ice cream
Beverly Thomas as Mary the blonde chorus girl
Bonnie Henjum as Chorus girl
Johnny Kascier as man on bicycle (stock footage)

Production notes

Flagpole Jitters is a remake of 1949's Hokus Pokus using ample stock footage from the original. The films have different endings: Mary is actually paraplegic here, whereas in the original she was a fraud. In Flagpole Jitters, Svengarlic is the fraud.^[1]

The Stooges make a reference to Sing Sing Correctional Facility, in which Shemp believes he has hypnotized Moe into thinking he is locked up in the infamous prison.^[1]

The character name Svengarlic is a parody of Svengali, the name of a fictional character in George du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby.^[1]

Flagpole Jitters was the last short produced that included new footage of Shemp Howard. For Crimin' Out Loud is commonly thought to be the last film featuring new footage of Shemp. However, the new footage used in For Crimin' Out Loud was filmed on June 30, 1955: Flagpole Jitters was filmed the next day on July 1. Shemp died on November 22, 1955, before any new films were produced.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Comedy III Productions, Inc. p. 471. ISBN 0-9711868-0-4.
^ Flagpole Jitters at threestooges.net